Charmed: Hollowed Lives
by Lord umbrex
Summary: AU After Season Five- This is a one shot about the troubles of three travelers, whom battle the Hollow in their own world in order to survive.From a world that has been nearly destroyed by the Hollow's insatiable appetite, three travelers roam from realm to realm, plane to plane, collecting the magic that is needed in order to seal the Hollow back in its box, but who are they?
1. Travelers

Charmed: Hollowed Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own charmed, but the WB does.

Summary: AU After Season Five- This is a one shot about the troubles of three travelers, whom battle the Hollow in their own world in order to survive. The Seer foresaw this, the Avaters warned of it, Good and Evil both agreed to forgo its usage, but no one listened. From a world that has been nearly destroyed by the Hollow's insatiable appetite, three travelers roam from realm to realm, plane to plane, collecting the magic that is needed in order to seal the Hollow back in its box, but who are they? And what secret does one of them harbor?

A/N: This will be a collection of Charmed one shots that I have written over the last few years, which are mostly about Cole and Phoebe. Review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 1: Travelers

The demon Zankou swished his hand through the air, forcing the fireball that Paige had orbed at him the other way, where it smashed against the attic wall. Swishing his hand once more, Zankou sent Paige flying across the room, where she crashed into a bookshelf with a loud bang. Grumbling, Paige returned to her feet, and went to attack Zankou another time, but was again thrown into the bookshelf with a flick of the demon's hand. Zankou looked between the three Charmed Ones, smirking when he saw that they were down and near death—Phoebe had a broken arm, while Piper had a large, gaping gash across her forehead, just above her right eye. Confident that his plan had worked flawlessly, Zankou walked towards Piper and Phoebe, charging up two energy balls into his hand, ready to exterminate the greatest force of good in the world, which would pave the way for his conquest and rule.

Slowly, he moved towards the downed sisters, a sinister smirk lacing his face. He had prepared himself for this since he was let loose, having been released by the other demons when the Titans had begun their hostile takeover of the world months prior. Once he killed the Charmed Ones, he would take his rightful place in the world and be crowned as the Source of All Evil, king of the demons and ruler of the Underworld's legions. As he toyed with the sisters, internally deciding on which one to kill first, a blue portal opened on the other side of the attic, and three male beings walked out. "What the…?" He stammered in confusion, clearly perplexed by what was transpiring, not knowing who the intruders were.

Before he even knew what was happening, Zankou was sent flying across the room by one of the men from the portal with a simple flick of his hand. Zankou had never seen such power come from such a flippant gesture before. Stumbling to his feet, Zankou met the gaze of a man with long black hair, weary blue eyes, and dirt-riddled cheeks. The man stood a few feet away, staring directly at Zankou with his arms crossed, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Scanning the area, Zankou noticed a second man with golden blond hair was circling around him, while the third and final newcomer was guarding the downed sisters from attack. All of them, it seemed to Zankou, appeared eerily calm, not worrying about if they were going to live or die.

"Who are you?" Zankou sneered, hoping to stall long enough to think of a plan. He could feel the power that the newcomers possessed, and knew that he would hardly stand a chance without a clever scheme or strategy. Instead of waiting for an answer, Zankou swished his arm wildly, pushing the man—who the sisters did not recognize—a few feet, but the attack had no effect other than that.

"Is that the best you got?" The man mocked, his crystalline eyes showing nothing but contempt for the demon. He was stronger than the demon by such a large margin that the fight was actually starting to bore him, a fact that enraged Zankou even more. Watching as Zankou summoned a ball of flames into his hands, he gave Zankou an admonishing smirk. "A flame ball? Really, how quaint." He mocked, summoning up a much more powerful fireball, one which was exclusively used by upper level demons. Zankou hurled his flame ball straight at the man, who, in turn, flicked his hand out as if he had a twitch, and gazed upon his fireball as it flew towards Zankou. When the two powerful balls met in midair, the man's more potent fireball went straight through the flame ball, continuing on its path towards Zankou, while the flame ball fizzled out into a puff of smoke.

Zankou dodged from the ball, not allowing it to hit him and then rolled across the floor. He quickly flung an energy ball at his opponent, which was dodged masterfully and allowed to harmlessly crash against the attic wall. Zankou quickly used the distraction and made to retreat, knowing he could not win against the current odds, but before he knew what was happening, before he realized that another of the newcomers had appeared directly behind him, he was stabbed in the back with a long, sharp athame. As Zankou began to erupt in flames, a blue electrical current washed over the hilt of the athame, transferring all of Zankou's powers through the athame and into the man who stabbed him. Moments later, Zankou was vanquished for good in a torrent of flames and an explosion in his wake.

"Finally," The golden haired man quipped once Zankou was completely gone, looking over to the original man who had been fighting Zankou. "I can finally lose the athame. I have the power of absorption now." He said, tucking the magical athame under his belt, knowing that it could still come in handy one day in the future.

"I figured as much," The black haired man nodded, apparently having previously known that Zankou had the power to absorb powers from others. "His father was Dogan, which is where I got my absorption power from, so it makes sense that he would have it, too. It's probably why he was so powerful in the first place. Did you receive anything else from him?"

"Yes," The golden haired man nodded affirmatively. "Zankou had prescience like I have never felt before. It's as if…as if I can be sense everything in the world. It feels like nigh omnipresence—if I concentrate on a place, my mind goes there; if I concentrate on a person, my mind travels there. This is unbelievable; it's intuition of the highest degree."

"That should come in handy," The third man said, coming over to the other two. He had short black hair and a lean, thin body, being a few inches shorter than the other two.

"Ah, hi," Piper interrupted the conversation, thoroughly confused by what was transpiring. Her voice caught the attention of the three as they all turned to her, looking at her expectantly. "Who are you?" Piper questioned suspiciously, wondering just who the three men were. Were they demons? Were they warlocks? Were they all there to kill them?

"You don't recognize me, mom?" The golden haired man who had been the one to vanquish Zankou smiled, looking over at Piper. He allowed Piper to study him for a few moments, moving his long hair back and showing his resemblance to his father, Leo.

"Wyatt?" Piper gasped, realizing it was her son all grown up, rushing over to envelop him in a hug.

He hugged her, and then pulled back to look her over, making sure that she was alright. "Here, let me heal you," Wyatt ordered, raising his hand and healing the large gash that was above her right eye. "Here, I can heal you too, Aunt Phoebe." He said, showing impressive abilities by healing Phoebe from a few feet away, much further than any whitelighter had ever shown Phoebe before. "Where is your whitelighter? He should be here."

"We don't really know," Phoebe answered with a shrug, having not seen their new whitelighter Chris in a week or so. "He disappeared a few days ago and he hasn't answered any of our calls."

"And dad hasn't come down?" Wyatt asked, turning his gaze back to his mother.

"I haven't called him," Piper answered, looking down, not wanting to call Leo away from his Elder duties. She had just gotten over the fact that he left her; to see him now would be devastating to her chances of moving on, to being able to raise Wyatt without him.

"You need a whitelighter," Wyatt reprimanded, taking his mother into another hug, wanting her to be safe and protected from the demons that he knew would attack her and her sisters.

"Hi, I'm Matthew." The third man that was protecting the sisters while Wyatt and the other guy were fighting Zankou said as he came over to the youngest sister. He reached his hand out to Paige in greeting, a large smile on his face. He had short black hair, milky white skin, brown eyes, and like the other two, was dirtied and unkempt.

"Nice to meet you," Paige said, shaking his outstretched hand. "Are you a friend of Wyatt's?"

"You could say that," Matthew nodded with a smirk, clearly hiding something. "Most would say I'm his cousin, but you could say that we're friends."

"Oh, brother, you're not my future son, are you?" Paige questioned, realizing the hint he was giving to her. While there was a resemblance between them, Matthew looked incredibly like Prue, whom Paige had only seen from distances before she died and from pictures after learning about her Halliwell heritage.

"Smart lady," Matthew replied sheepishly, giving her a hug. "No, I'm not going to tell you who my father is, so don't ask."

"What about you?" Phoebe asked, looking over to the man with long black hair, who was lurking in the background. "What's your name?"

"No one," He replied quietly, giving her a small sad smile that reminded Phoebe of someone long since dead. "Go and enjoy the family reunion, because the three of us will have to be leaving to get back to our world in a few minutes."

When the introductions were finished, Piper sat down on one of the older couches in the attic, looking up at her son. "So why are you all here, Wyatt? Surely you didn't come to just beat Zankou for us, right?"

"Oh, no," Wyatt responded, shaking his head in the negative. "Do you want to tell the story?" He questioned the nameless man with black hair, who continued to stand in the background, out of view from the others.

"No," He scowled, reacting as if Wyatt was taunting him. "I'll get the portal ready." He finished, before taking a large piece of white chalk out of his pocket and walking over to the empty wall of the attic, where he started to draw a large triquetra.

Wyatt grinned, and looked over to Matthew, who just rolled his eyes at Wyatt's antics. Then, turning his attention back to his mother, Wyatt began to tell the story about why they were all there. "Around the time that all three of us were born, a being, we don't know who exactly, released the Hollow on the world, apparently in an effort to gain power. It attacked the Underworld first, absorbing most of the warlock and demon powers that were used against it, before the one who released it eventually brought it to the human world. Before long, witches were dying, and then things changed for the worst and the world was on the brink of global destruction."

All three of the sisters turned to each other, their expressions showing the same horrified look that they all felt inside. "What happened?" Paige asked, pressing Wyatt to go on.

Wyatt's gaze moved over to Paige, and his voice underscored the seriousness of the situation. "Somehow, some way, the Hollow gained consciousness, gained sentience, and it wasn't neutral anymore in just doing the being's bidding, it was amoral: completely destroying everything, regardless of the controller's wishes. Everything in its path was absorbed or killed, and not even humans without magic were safe anymore. It infected armies, terrorists, everyone who had some power and scattered itself to the four corners of the world."

"That sounds terrible." Phoebe whispered, completely mortified by what she was hearing. She recalled the danger that the Hollow posed, with it at one point stealing the powers of her sisters when the Source had released it nearly a year and a half prior.

"Those of us who could fight, fought against it and continue to fight to this day." Matthew continued with the story, shaking his head in sadness, knowing the impact that their life story had on people. "About a year ago, we were able to conjure the box of the Hollow from its possessor and tried to put it back into its place using our powers."

"It didn't work?" Piper questioned, remembering how Phoebe and the Seer were able to contain it when the Source had released the Hollow.

"We were not powerful enough," Wyatt answered honestly, admitting that they failed in containing the Hollow because they were too weak. "We could not call it back to contain it because it had absorbed too much power for us to overcome. After that failure, we were back to where we started, and then Pay came up with a plan. He decided that we should travel to the different planes and worlds, and absorb as much power and magic as we could, me and him," He gestured to the black haired man that was preparing the return portal. "In an effort to gain enough power to contain the Hollow and put it back in its box. We sensed Zankou's release from our world and then came here to absorb his power, and here we are, talking to you."

"But if Zankou was destroyed, won't that change your world? Perhaps beating Zankou would prevent the Hollow from being released." Paige supposed, wondering what impact Zankou's defeat would have on their lives.

"No, we come from a different timeline, not from the future." Wyatt said, shaking his head in the negative. "You see there are two different dimensions, or rather universes: this dimension and the parallel one, which flips morality. Within each dimension, however, there are certain subcategories, pocket worlds so to speak. There are realms like Earthly realm, the Heavens, and the Underworld. There are also planes, as in the Ghostly plane, the Astral plane, the Enchanted plane, and Void. And finally, there are different timelines, where different scenarios and choices are played out that substantially change the fates and destinies of people. The fact that we vanquished Zankou has no effect on our timeline, just yours. This isn't the first time that we've traveled into a different world to absorb another demon's power; this is just the first time you've personally seen us in this timeline."

"Well, what's the difference? Why is our timeline different than yours?" Piper questioned, wondering what had made the two timelines stray away from one another. What made their timeline such a dystopia, compared to their own relatively peaceful world?

"Um," Wyatt started, awkwardly looking back and forth between his mother and the man that was now drawing a triquetra on the attic wall. "There were a few changes in our timeline that didn't happen in your time."

Piper followed Wyatt's gaze, and then studied the man as he drew a triquetra. _He looks familiar_, she thought to herself, before her breath hitched in her chest. "What changes?" She asked, narrowing her gaze, wondering if her suspicions were correct.

"A few here and there," Matthew mentioned, trying to end the conversation, sensing the direction it was taking. "So, don't mind us, but do you have any food? I'm famished."

"Ah, sure," Piper replied easily, drawing her gaze from the third man over to Matthew, before getting up from the couch and walking towards the attic door. "I'll make you guys dinner."

"Pay, you coming?" Wyatt asked back as everyone headed for the door, making everyone pause to hear his answer.

"No, I'm okay; I'll see you guys when you're done." He answered, not taking his eyes off of the wall.

"You sure?" Phoebe inquired, knowing that he was probably hungry just like the other two.

"I'm positive," The man returned, giving her a smile that didn't quite reach his soul. Phoebe nodded and followed the rest of the group out of the attic and down the stairs, never hearing or seeing the man give out a loud sigh or drop his head in defeat once they all had left.

The group made their way to the kitchen, where Piper had been preparing the family meal before Zankou had attacked them. After finishing up the meal's preparation and setting the table, they all sat down at the dining room table, intent on enjoying a nice, peaceful meal together. "So who is that guy up there?" Phoebe questioned, trying to make conversation with her nephews. "Pay, I think you called him?"

"He's…" Wyatt started, before pausing as Matthew grabbed his arm.

"It's not our place to say," Matthew warned Wyatt, giving his cousin a stern look.

"He won't say it, what difference does it make?" Wyatt retorted, believing that he had to admit to his mother and aunts who the man was, regardless of Matthew's beliefs on the subject.

Piper cocked an eyebrow, wondering what they were hiding from them. "Okay, what's going on?" She asked, hoping nothing was wrong, though she couldn't be sure by the way they were acting.

"All three of us are cousins." Wyatt said simply, not fully admitting who the man was like he had wanted, but not staying quiet like Matthew had asked. "Matthew's my cousin, and the other guy is my cousin, as well."

"So he's your brother?" Paige asked Matthew, wondering if he was her son as well. It was odd to her that he wouldn't come and introduce himself like Matthew had if he was her son, but she didn't express it, instead wanting to learn more first.

"Nope," Matthew shook his head in the negative, knowing that it would probably reveal who the man was, but unable and unwilling to lie directly to his mother about it. "I'm an only child. We're all only children."

"Wait," Phoebe muttered, furrowing her brow, realizing that by process of elimination, that man was either her son or Prue's. "Is Prue still alive in your time? Is that one of the changes?"

"No, she is not, unfortunately," Wyatt replied, frowning slightly at the suggestion that his aunt Prue was still alive. "I too am an only child, if that helps your train of thought."

Phoebe's face went white, the realization of what Wyatt and Matthew were saying dawning on her fully for the first time. "That means…" She whispered, looking between Matthew and Wyatt with wide eyes.

"Yes." Matthew replied simply, giving her a small, quick nod in agreement.

"And he doesn't want to talk to me?" Phoebe inquired, a bit hurt by the fact that her own son didn't come to say hello to her like Matthew or Wyatt had their own mothers.

"It would be very, very awkward." Matthew answered quietly, having discussed it previous to coming into the timeline.

Phoebe looked at Matthew confusedly, not understanding what he meant by that. "Why?" She asked, wondering what would make it awkward between a mother and a son.

Wyatt gave a small grin, knowing the supreme difference between their world and the one that he was currently in. "Because of whom his father is."

"Do I know him yet?" Phoebe asked, wanting to know who the father of her future child was.

"It's Cole," Piper whispered knowingly, having just remembered where the familiarity with the man's appearance before had come from. He looked like a younger, taller Cole Turner, dirtied and wearied from life, but just as handsome.

"Impossible," Phoebe replied, nearly appalled by the suggestion.

"He does kind of look like Cole, hunny." Paige noted, thinking back to what the man looked like and mentally comparing him to Cole.

"I knew my ears were burning," Phoebe's son said, coming into the dining room to join the rest of the family. "I see you have let slip my secret, huh, cousin?" He grunted, staring straight at Wyatt, clearly perturbed by Wyatt's revelations.

A/N: This plot was originally going to be in my "Charmed: Essence of the Demon" story, but I've restructured it to be something else entirely. This Payton is basically the same Payton as the one from that story, but not exactly. This will be a quick three chapters, but it's really just a long one shot.


	2. Climbing Mount Olympus

Charmed: Hollowed Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own charmed, but the WB does.

Summary: AU After Season Five- This is a one shot about the troubles of three travelers, whom battle the Hollow in their own world in order to survive. The Seer foresaw this, the Avaters warned of it, Good and Evil both agreed to forgo its usage, but no one listened. From a world that has been nearly destroyed by the Hollow's insatiable appetite, three travelers roam from realm to realm, plane to plane, collecting the magic that is needed in order to seal the Hollow back in its box, but who are they? And what secret does one of them harbor?

A/N: This will be a collection of Charmed one shots that I have written over the last few years, which are mostly about Cole and Phoebe. Review and tell me what you think!

**Chapter 2: Climbing Mount Olympus**

"Oh my goodness," Phoebe gasped as she turned her gaze over to him, now seeing the resemblance between the man and Cole Turner. Like Cole, he had dark hair, blue eyes, tan skinned, and a tall and stout build, similarly to the way Cole had been. There were a few differences, however, which Phoebe saw immediately, such as his nose and jaw line, which more resembled her own, as well as the different hair texture that he had from Cole. Nevertheless, the resemblance was there, so much so that she couldn't believe that she didn't see it before.

"Hello mother," He said softly, turning his gaze over to her and immediately losing his scowl. His demeanor noticeably and completely changed, instantly transforming from what it was into a seemingly loving son.

"How…what…how….what's your name?" Phoebe rambled, rising to her feet to come closer to him in an effort to get a better look at him.

"My name is Payton," He answered, giving her a small smile in response, knowing how confused she probably felt. "And I really don't want to get into the details because I know you all hate my father in this timeline, so it's just not really worth it for me. I love him; he was there for me every day of his life. That's all I really want to say on the matter." Then, looking over to Wyatt and Matthew, he added, "If you're both done with your supper, the portal is ready."

"Wait," Phoebe reached out, grabbing him by the shoulder gently to stop him from leaving. "Do you dislike me or something?"

"Dislike you?" Payton shook his head, as if insulted by the accusation. "No, of course I don't, don't think that. You were the first to be attacked by the Hollow so I don't really know you to be honest."

Phoebe looked down at the floor, understanding of the sorrow that came with not knowing your mother since she herself felt it daily. "Just tell me how you came to be, when exactly?"

"You didn't kill the wizard in my timeline." He answered simply before walking back up the stairs, leaving Phoebe with a shocked expression on her face.

"Huh? What did he mean, Pheebs?" Piper questioned, not understanding how that would change the timeline. She looked over to her sister, and saw the look on her face, which proved that the statement did indeed mean something; Piper just did not know what exactly.

"Cole once tried to get the Source's powers out of him through that wizard that came to us, but I…I vanquished the wizard and allowed Cole to stay as the Source before the ceremony was completed." Phoebe replied, falling back down in her seat, as if emotionally drained by the day's events. "The Seer talked me into doing it, and if I hadn't done that…"

"Cole wouldn't have been the Source, we wouldn't have vanquished him, and your son wouldn't have been taken by the Seer." Paige finished, knowing Phoebe's train of thought. "I assume that is who he is, right? He is the son that was taken by the Seer?"

"Alright, well, this was fun," Matthew started, immediately seeing that they shouldn't have told them. Payton specifically told them that he didn't want his mother to know about him to keep her from blaming herself, but because they disobeyed, that's exactly what happened—she blamed herself. "It wasn't your fault, Aunt Phoebe."

"Yes, it was," Phoebe retorted, saddened that her son didn't want to talk to her more. "Eat dessert, talk to your mothers, watch a movie, stall or something, I have to talk to him." She got to her feet, grabbed a white plate from the table, and then piled some food onto it. When the plate was covered, she picked up a fork and began walking up the attic, bringing her son the food that the family had eaten. Upon reaching the attic landing, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she knew was about to happen. "Hi," Phoebe said, opening the door and entering the attic. She walked further into the room, and then placed the plate down onto the trunk that was on the floor in the center of the attic, setting a place for him to eat. "I brought you some food."

"Thanks," Payton replied, though he appeared uninterested in eating. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the floor, his back against the wall with the triquetra drawn above him. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't seem unhappy to see her, either.

"I'm sorry." Phoebe started, not really knowing what to say or do. Here she was, talking to her grown up son, a son that she never dreamed of having and never knew was born.

"It's not your fault." Payton shrugged, not wanting her to blame herself. "This is just a timeline that I dreaded coming into from the start. I didn't want to encroach on your family moments before or start trouble with anyone."

"So Cole and I are still together in a lot of other timelines then?" Phoebe inquired, wondering if that's what he meant by what he had said.

"No," Payton shook his head in the negative, thinking back to the various timelines they had entered before. "He's dead in a lot of the timelines, having been killed fighting off some demon with you, protecting you or some other odd reason. This is just the first one that I've come into where, well, you loath him and he didn't die a hero in your eyes."

"Cole and I went through a lot," She replied, seemingly not denying the fact that she hated Cole for what he had put her through after he had came back from the Wasteland.

"I get that." Payton nodded, understanding of the fact that things didn't go as well as they maybe should have in the timeline that he was presently in.

"Him as Belthazor, him as a human, him as the Source of All Evil, him as a human with crazy Source-like powers," Phoebe rambled, counting off the various costumes that Cole had worn during his lifetime. "It was always something new, something always got in the way."

Payton bit down on his lip, cocking an eyebrow at something Phoebe had said. "He was never actually the Source, you know that, right?" Payton inquired, wanting his mother to know that fact. "He was always possessed; he never actively became the Source."

"I didn't know that," Phoebe admitted, having never known that fact. She always thought that he had become the Source himself, though now that she thought back, she should have realized it sooner. "I understand that now."

"But it's too late," Payton nodded, not expecting it to alter her opinion of his father. Instead, his intention on revealing that secret was just to save his father's name somewhat, even if it didn't completely erase all the other wrongs that he had performed in his life.

"Exactly," Phoebe agreed, still unaffected by the information—after all, Cole had tried to kill her sisters and turn her evil before he finally died, acts that did not concern the Source. "I wish I could change things, not to bring Cole and I back together, but we shouldn't have ended the way we ended. I did some very, very selfish things, not only to him but to my sisters, that I wish I could take back." She admitted, allowing thoughts that she had never spoken to anyone about come to the forefront of her mind.

"I'm sure you did what you thought was right," Payton said, giving her a small smile, not wanting it to seem like he chose his father over his mother—he loved them equally and did not prefer one to the other. Then, crawling over to the trunk, he began eating the food that Phoebe had brought him, his stomach rumbling in hunger. "Thanks for this, I actually am really hungry."

"See, I'm not all that bad," Phoebe laughed, watching as he picked up the fork that was on the side of the plate.

"I don't think you're bad at all, like I said before, I don't dislike you. You're my mother, I love you, it's just that we've never really spoken before. Trust me, I believe…no, rather I'm sure you would have made for a wonderful mother, and will be a wonderful one in the future in this timeline." Payton said, before taking his first bite. As his hand grazed the white plate, his back straightened and he didn't breathe for a few moments, before going back to normal, continuing to eat his meal.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow at what had happened, but stayed silent, assuming he had just never tasted Piper's cooking before. "What happened to Cole in this timeline, do you know?" Phoebe asked interestedly, her curiosity peaking about what had happened to her ex-husband. Was he still alive? Did he move off somewhere outside of San Francisco? Or did the vanquish that Paige had mentioned about actually stick?

"He's in the Void." Payton answered, and upon seeing his mother's blank expression, he continued, "The Void is the place where beings go that are not allowed to move on for a variety of reasons, but cannot come back to the Earthly plane like ghosts can. It's the cosmic void between life and death."

"He's trapped there?" Phoebe blinked at what Payton had said, a brief thought of mercy flashing into her mind. "Like there is no escape kind of trapped?"

"I guess," Payton uncomfortably murmured, not wanting to think about it. He wasn't there to fix his parents relationship, he was there to save his world, which was one of the reasons he wanted to stay in the attic alone and away from his mother.

"So tell me about yourself, do you have a girlfriend? What powers do you have?" Phoebe asked, changing the subject, noticing Payton's demeanor. "What do you like to do as a pastime? You know, for fun?"

"The first question is a touchy subject, and the second one, more than I can count," Payton answered truthfully, having been born with and stolen too many powers to count. "But I take it you meant naturally, right? Well, as you know, I can throw fire and change melon into steak."

Phoebe blinked in silence for a moment, and then let out a great burst of laughter, remembering how her melon was changed into steak when she was pregnant with him. "You actually remember that?"

"No," Payton replied, shaking his head in the negative. "Aunt Piper would always tell me that story; how I would change your food into whatever I wanted at that time, rather than what I perhaps needed. It was one of her favorites because things were apparently really weird around the house when you and her were pregnant at the same time—Wyatt and I each trying to outdo one another with our magic. Plus," He added with a wry grin, informing his mother on one of his powers, answering her previous question. "I had a vision of you pregnant with me when I touched the plate just before."

"That's what that was?" Phoebe smirked, her internal suspicion of him having a premonition proving true. "I saw you straighten up, but I didn't know what happened. What a coincidence, I guess we haven't gotten new plates since that time. So you inherited my power, did you?"

"Yes and your ability to levitate, as well." Payton smiled, enjoying the conversation more since its turn away from his father. "It's my Halliwell birthright and all, you know."

The pair went silent for a few moments, Phoebe lost in her thoughts and Payton lost in his food. "I'm sorry you have to live in the world that you do. I wish you could stay here, and I could go fight the Hollow in your place." Phoebe said, breaking the silence, truly desiring to take her son's place, to live the horrors in his stead, to fight the menace herself.

"Don't be sorry. It's what Wyatt and I were born for, it's our destiny," Payton responded with a shrug, not willing to allow anyone to fight for him, especially not his own mother. "It's not what we may have chosen, but it's certainly not something we'd pawn off on anyone else. We will win…eventually. And after we do? We'll start rebuilding."

"You definitely have your father's resolve," Phoebe noted, recalling how Cole was so strong in his beliefs, especially when it came to wanting to win her love when he first returned to San Francisco after his faked vanquish. "You have my nose, but your father's resolve." Payton grinned at that, showing his young age for the first time. "How old are you exactly?"

"24," He answered after gulping down some food.

"Just a baby still," Phoebe cooed loudly, her expression a strange mix of a frown and a smile.

"Hey, at least I'm old enough to shave," Payton laughed, knowing that he probably looked and acted like he was older, qualities that he owed to fighting the Hollow. Growing up in a world ruled by fear, and being counted on to save said world, had weighed on his soul, transforming him from a normal man in his early twenties to a smart, articulate warrior who carried a burden far greater than he should.

"I was 24 when I first met your father." Phoebe remembered, before the pair went silent for a few moments once more. She recalled how Cole had appeared in front of her in that alley, seemingly so confident, charming and handsome, it was no wonder she was swept off of her feet immediately.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I didn't want to talk to you before, it's just that, you never will be my mother, so I figured why even talk to you? Why pretend and put you through that?" Payton started abruptly, the silence between the pair making him feel uncomfortable. At his proclamation, Phoebe instantly looked down to the floor, clearly hurt by what he had said. "Oh, no, I didn't mean that how it sounds."

"It's okay if you did," Phoebe replied, looking up at him with honest eyes. She could tell that he was trying, but struggling to form a bond with her, apparently having no previous experience talking to her before then since she had died so early in his life.

"No, I mean literally, I can't be born in this timeline, that's what I meant by 'you never will be.' You are MY mother, and I love you dearly, but you personally will never be the mother to me, if that makes sense." Payton said, trying to fix his mistake, though finding that he was just making it worse. "I was trying to protect you, because I knew that I can't be born so I didn't want you to feel obligated to try and get to know me."

"I understand, don't worry. And getting to know my son is an honor, not an obligation." Phoebe relayed to him, not upset or saddened by what he had said. "I loved your father, trust me, I know exactly how the Turner gene works—blurt things out and then realize you probably should have said it differently in order to convey the true meaning of what you wanted to say in the first place. I'm used to it. Your father, bless him, once brought a gift for your Aunt Piper's wedding, and instead of gently handing it over to her or placing it down like a normal person, he chucked it at her from across the hall."

"Can this be any worse in terms of a mother son reunion?" Payton scowled under his breath, making Phoebe smile. "That sounds like something I would do, too, chucking a present at someone, not intending it to be so rough."

"Well, when I reunited with my mother, my oldest sister astral projected and ran out with some random guy on a motorcycle, nearly ruining Piper's wedding." She remembered, thinking back to Piper's wedding. While it eventually turned out to be a great memory, when it was happening, it was anything but great. "That was pretty bad. I think that might top this."

"That does sound worse," Payton grinned, taking a few more bites of his food.

Phoebe inspected his disheveled and dirtied appearance, seeing that he was a good looking young man underneath it all. "Would you want to change clothes and take a shower? I have a few of your father's things still in my closet, I'm sure they would fit. They may be a little tighter on you than they were on him, since you're a tad taller, but you have relatively the same build as him."

"Um," Payton mumbled, finishing his food with one final bite. He looked towards his mother, seeing her hopeful expression, apparently having another motive behind the question. "That would be nice."

Phoebe's face lit up in joy. "Great!" She chirped, bouncing to her feet in anticipation. "I'll go get you the clothes and start the shower."

"Thank you," Payton nodded, getting to his feet and carrying the plate with him as he made his way over to her. "Maybe we can talk some more when I get out, if you want, I mean."

"I would love that." Phoebe replied as the pair walked down the stairs, heading in the direction of her room. "Do you have a favorite ice cream?"

"Rocky road," Payton answered curiously, wondering what his mother had in mind. She did not expound on what she meant any further, so silently, Phoebe and Payton both walked into her room and over to the closet. After opening the wooden door, Phoebe bent down and rummaged through the bottom, looking for a box that she had thrown into the back after Cole was first vanquished in his penthouse. She tossed around some clothes that had fallen off of their hangers, and then moved some shoes and pumps before finding her prize. She pulled the box out of the closet and carried it over to the edge of her bed, placing it down on top of her comforter. "I didn't think you would keep any of his things," Payton said, watching as Phoebe took off of the lid and looked through the box to find the clothes.

"I don't like throwing anything out," Phoebe admitted with a shrug, never having cleaned out her closet since the time Cole had died. "Ah, here they are." She said, moving aside a photo of her and Cole and taking out a black pair of jeans and a gray sweater. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Payton smiled, taking the clothes into his arms. They weren't his normal style, but for the night, he knew they would work just fine.

"You're welcome," Phoebe returned, unceremoniously piling everything back into the cardboard box and closing it back up. She gestured for him to follow her, leading him into the bathroom and turning the water onto warm. Then, reaching into the bathroom closet, she grabbed a yellow colored towel and a washcloth, before placing them on the rack next to the shower. "Shampoo and soap are in the shower, if you need anything else, let me know."

"Will do," Payton said as Phoebe left the room, closing the door behind her. Payton turned to face the shower, a small smile appearing on his face all the while, knowing that he would get to relax for the first time in years.

Twenty minutes later, a freshly clean Payton exited the bathroom, steam escaping as he opened the door. The dirt that laced his skin and the grime that had accumulated in his hair was gone, each of which had been washed away by the warm water. "Mom?" He said loudly through the upstairs hallway, not knowing if she was around or not.

"In here!" Phoebe called out, sitting in her room, looking at the picture of her and Cole that she had found in the box. She put the picture back into the box just before Payton neared the room, and then looked over to the door, giving a large smile when he came into view. "Wow, you look like a new man."

"I feel like one," Payton nodded in agreement, not remembering the last time he felt so clean. "I haven't had a shower like that in a long, long time. Not much running hot water where we live. We usually use the river to clean ourselves mostly."

"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Phoebe asked, ignoring the idea of the squalor that Payton, Wyatt, and Matthew lived in. The thought of her son not being able to take a shower with warm water, something that she took for granted on a daily basis, was appalling to her and not a thought that she wanted to have. "There is an ice cream place just down the street."

"Sure," Payton agreed, licking his lips at the notion of some cold ice cream. "I'd love some." He waited for his mother to get up from the bed, before heading over to the stairs and making his way down to the first floor.

"We live on Mount Olympus," Wyatt said, sipping on his coffee, explaining to Piper and Paige their daily lives. They all lived at the top of Mount Olympus along with additional people, mostly low-level witches and their mortal families, having moved their after Hollow-infected witches had infiltrated their last home.

"Wait, the Mount Olympus?" Paige muttered in disbelief, unable to imagine Mount Olympus actually existing, regardless of the fact that she had previously learned that the Greek gods were in fact real. "You mean as in the mythical place where Apollo shot arrows down at the Greeks during the Trojan War?"

"One and the same," Matthew agreed with a nod of his head, seeing and understanding the seeming preposterousness of it all. "It's the only place guaranteed that the Hollow cannot reach. Only us with this pendant can reach it," He said, taking a pendant out from one of his pockets—it was a gold stone with a black leather band. "Perses managed to scavenge these up when our last hideout was found and destroyed. The Greek gods in ancient times used it as a sanctuary to protect themselves from the Elders when they tried to take back their powers."

"Unbelievable," Paige shook her head in amazement, looking down at the pendant that Matthew had handed to her, before passing it over to Piper. "How many of you are fighting?"

"In our group, there are twelve of us left; six evil, six good." Wyatt answered, noting the coincidental fact that there were twelve Olympians in ancient times, as well. He accepted the pendant from his mother, before handing it back to Matthew, who placed it safely back into his pocket.

"So if you three are good, who else is on the side of good?" Piper asked, squeezing some lemon and spooning some sugar into her tea. Once she finished, she placed her spoon down onto the side of her plate and grabbed a sugar cookie, nibbling on it slightly as she waited for an answer.

"I'm not on the side of good." Payton informed her, coming down the stairs with Phoebe right behind him. He was wearing the black jeans and gray sweater that Phoebe had given to him, now completely clean: he looked nearly identical to a young Cole Turner. "Morally and spiritually, of course I am, but magically, my powers are mostly demonic so technically I fall on the other side in regards to what Wyatt is talking about."

"Good and evil magic, not necessarily good and evil people," Wyatt corrected himself, giving a smile to his cousin, recognizing the mistake that he had made. "Let's see, there is Matthew, Billie, Bianca, and myself as witches, the last Elder Kevin and the wizard Rathmere who all use good magic, while Payton, the darklighter Rennek, the demon Goath, a lord of war named Duncan Statler, the demonic sorcerer Mordaunt, and the Titan Perses use dark magic." He counted off everyone that fought with them, each of whom had made a sacrifice to fight the Hollow in one way or another. "None of them are really evil, actually. I mean, Perses is actually downright good like we are; Goath is just a jerk, but isn't really evil in demonic terms; Duncan is bad and I wouldn't want to meet him in an alley late at night, but again, not really evil; and Mordaunt is a liar and a thief, but not someone that will necessarily kill you."

"Rennek?" Matthew nudged Wyatt, reminding him of the last member of their group. Rennek was a darklighter that, throughout his century of being a darklighter, had killed numerous whitelighters, whitelighters-to-be, and innocents alike, and as such, had grown quite powerful in result.

"Oh, right, Rennek," Wyatt nodded, a small frown on his face. "I don't know how I forgot about him. Yeah, he's evil to the core, like a person that would scare children if you told them stories about him."

"He was Jack the Ripper when he was alive," Matthew added, giving a shiver of discomfort. "And I don't mean that figuratively, he literally was Jack the Ripper."

"That's a pleasant thought." Piper muttered, not knowing how much she liked the idea of her son and nephews being around such a killer. She knew that they could take care of themselves, but still, it was needless danger that she preferred they not be around.

"Wait, did you say a Titan?" Paige gasped, just realizing what Wyatt had said, surprised by the fact that there were still Titans around in the world. "Didn't Piper kill them all?"

"No, you three only defeated a small cabal, that's all. There are dozens of them still around, entombed, but alive." Matthew corrected his mother, knowing that there were more than just three Titans out there. "Perses was released a few years before the Titans you fought were released, but since he's not evil like Wyatt said, he stays to his own business and no one even knows about it."

"How is that even possible? It took us being transformed into gods to even take them on, how is that Titan not strong enough to put the Hollow back in its box?" Piper whistled, remembering the rush of power that she felt as the goddess of the Earth, back when she could make lightning rain down onto the world and she was able to get into the Heavens by sheer force of will.

"The Hollow has absorbed nearly all magic in the human world, having already absorbed nearly all the magic in the Underworld, trust us, it's going to take a lot of power." Payton answered, taking a step closer to the table, where the rest were all sitting. "Apparently the Titans only helped each other when it served them, rather than any sort of bond between them. Hence, why Perses lived years without ever even attempting to free the Titans you fought, he only cared about his wife."

Wyatt sniffed the air, and then looked over to Payton. Seeing his wet hair, clean face and new clothes, he cocked an eyebrow at his cousin. "Did you take a shower?"

"Yes," Payton sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Would you like to one, as well? I'm sure we can wash your clothes while you do." Piper questioned, knowing that it would be good for them to take a shower for some normalcy in their lives. Plus, she noticed after sitting with them for nearly an hour, they stunk from lack of adequate bathing. "You can too, Matthew."

"What do you think?" Matthew asked, looking over to Wyatt, wondering what he thought on the matter. The idea of taking a shower was appealing to him, though he knew they were on a schedule that needed to be kept.

"We can afford the time, no?" Wyatt questioned back, not seeing a problem with it.

"We'll just be an hour or two late, so what." Payton agreed with a nod of his head, inwardly happy that he would get to spend more time with his mother.

"Okay," Wyatt nodded, accepting his own mother's offer.

Phoebe looked down at her watch, making sure it was still early enough for them to get ice cream. Seeing that it was, she smiled and tapped Payton on the shoulder. "We'll be back." She said, gesturing for Payton to follow her as she headed into the foyer.

"Where are you going?" Paige asked curiously, wondering where the mother and son pair was heading off. She was unsurprised that Payton had opened up to Phoebe, as she saw the look on Payton's face when he said hi before—it was a look of love and adoration, not one of dislike or hate.

"To get ice cream," Phoebe called back, closing the front door behind them as they left.

A/N: These characters aren't directly from Essence of the Demon, as in that story's Payton, Wyatt, and Matthew are the ones fighting the Hollow, but the characterizations are basically the same. That means that this Payton wasn't the Source himself, but certainly has the Source's powers. Like I said before, this is going to be just a short character story, with an epilogue afterwards.


	3. The Rocky Road

Charmed: Hollowed Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own charmed, but the WB does.

Summary: AU After Season Five- This is a one shot about the troubles of three travelers, whom battle the Hollow in their own world in order to survive. The Seer foresaw this, the Avaters warned of it, Good and Evil both agreed to forgo its usage, but no one listened. From a world that has been nearly destroyed by the Hollow's insatiable appetite, three travelers roam from realm to realm, plane to plane, collecting the magic that is needed in order to seal the Hollow back in its box, but who are they? And what secret does one of them harbor?

A/N: This will be a collection of Charmed one shots that I have written over the last few years, which are mostly about Cole and Phoebe. Review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 3: The Rocky Road

They made their way down the street, where a local ice cream parlor was in a corner store three blocks away. Phoebe pointed out some locations and places that she used to go to when she was a child, having grown up and lived in the neighborhood since she was just a baby, except for the short time that she lived in New York for college and work. "I can't remember the last time I had ice cream," Payton mentioned as they walked, his eyes moving around all of the sights.

Phoebe moved her gaze over to him, raising a questioning eyebrow. "I thought you said rocky road was your favorite?"

"It is…well, it was, when I was a kid." Payton answered as they arrived at the small shop, which did not seem very busy considering the night heat. "When we were growing up, the grownups made sure we had as normal of a childhood as possible, and would sometimes give us ice cream. It wasn't much, but a few tastes were all we needed sometimes. I'm pretty excited for this, not going to lie."

"I'm glad," Phoebe smiled and held open the door to the store, allowing Payton to walk in first. There was a short line, so they waited, all the while looking at the various flavors that the store had to offer.

After a few minutes, they were at the front of the line and the store worker was smiling at them as she waited to take their order. "Can I have a scoop of rocky road on a cone with chocolate sprinkles, please?" Payton asked politely, after making his decision and sticking with his favorite.

"Make it two scoops," Phoebe corrected, rubbing Payton's back, wanting him to enjoy as much as he could while he had the opportunity. "And I'll have two scoops of butter pecan."

"Right up," The woman nodded, rushing over to the basket of sugar cones and grabbing two, before heading over to the freezer to scoop the ice cream. A few minutes later, she brought the two cones over to the mother and son pair, handing them their respective desserts, while ringing up the order at the cash register.

Phoebe paid the small sum, and they turned to walk out of the store, planning on eating their ice cream as they headed back to the manor. "Is it any good?" Phoebe inquired with a smile, watching as Payton took his first few licks.

"Delicious, thank you," Payton nodded, too busy eating his ice cream to say anything more. Phoebe watched him for a few brief seconds, and immediately understood that her son had been denied the simple pleasures in life, things that many people took for granted, which was a fact that broke her heart like no other.

As they exited the parlor with their ice cream cones in hand, Phoebe looked up at the night sky and saw the North Star twinkle. Payton, meanwhile, silently ate his ice cream, before a shadow across the street caught his attention. He looked over to what he saw and noticed two men, one dark-skinned and one light, who were each wearing all black, staring straight back at him, a curious look in their eyes. "Before, when you said it was a touchy subject, does that mean that you lost someone close to you that you loved romantically?" Phoebe questioned softly, earning Payton's attention away from the two men.

Payton shifted his gaze over to his much shorter mother, before looking back at the shadow, where he saw that the two men were gone, disappearing in a beam of darkness. Shaking his head, wondering if they were actually there, he bit his lip, surprised by the question from his mother. "Yes, yes I did."

"I'm sorry." Phoebe sighed, wondering just how awful the world that he came from was exactly. Was it really the hellzone that they implied it was? Was there any goodness in it or was it something made completely from the darkest, deepest nightmares of humankind?

"Me too," Payton replied, a small frown taking its place on his handsome face. "You would have liked her, she was truly amazing. Not only was she smart, funny, and very beautiful, but most of all, she understood me. I could talk to her for hours without even trying, without needing to think up different things to discuss. When I was with her, I didn't have to try, I was just myself."

"What was her name?" Phoebe asked, wondering what the name was of the woman who stole her son's heart.

"Kyra," Payton answered quietly, his heart aching as he thought about her, feelings long since buried rising to the surface. "She was killed before the Hollow could absorb her in order to protect us. She was a demonic seer, but she wanted so badly to be human. She would have practically given up everything to be a human; her powers, her eternal youth, everything to be human, save perhaps her love for me." He went silent for a few moments, enjoying his ice cream and the peaceful night air. "Many people don't understand me—a demon/witch hybrid with the exact powers of not only the Source of All Evil, but a Charmed One, as well? They don't understand that I can suppress my demonic side, that I'm more human than I am demon. Outside of Matthew and Wyatt, they all distrust me, it's…wearisome."

"Can I be honest with you?" Phoebe asked, hoping that her son would appreciate her honesty and see the lesson that it would show. She knew that what she was going to say would not be easy to hear at first blush, but there was a reason for her saying it.

"Sure," He nodded in the affirmative, continuing to eat his ice cream, knowing that there was really nothing his mother could say that would upset him.

"I was like that," Phoebe admitted, thinking back to a time when she and Cole were at their strongest, a time when Prue was still alive and Paige hadn't entered their lives just yet. "When I first heard that your father was a demon, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it made him evil automatically. That, while he might have wanted to be good, and that he might have even been good in his heart, he was still evil somewhere deep inside."

Payton stared off into the distance, thinking over what his mother had told him. "How did he handle it?"

"Same way you seem to be doing it," Phoebe answered in a tone that was reminiscent of pride. "He was always himself, regardless of what people told him or thought of him. I remember when my sister Prue threatened to vanquish him the first time he came to see me after we faked his vanquish—no one wanted him there, not even me, but he stayed and helped us solve a problem, even though he felt awkward and unwanted and very well risked death by doing it. And, in the end, he won his place in our lives, and eventually, our trust, even Prue's somewhat."

"I guess I'm more like him than I knew," Payton said, missing his father dearly at that moment. "Before he passed in my timeline, he always said that I reminded him of you."

"I can see that," Phoebe smiled in appreciation, knowing that Cole would never speak ill about her, no matter what she did to him. "But you really are like him, it's amazing. He was a little…scratch that, a lot more cocky than you are. He was annoyingly confident sometimes, that's what attracted me to him at first, but you? You're more of a quiet confidence kind of person, rather than outright bravado like him."

"Like you?" Payton returned, giving her a sideways grin that showed his youth.

"Like me," Phoebe nodded in agreement, recognizing the personality similarities that they each had to one another. "Tell me more about your life, what was it like growing up?"

"Well, you died when I was three, and my father raised me until he died when I was seventeen, leaving Matthew, Wyatt, and me all alone." Payton started, inwardly thinking back to the time when he and Wyatt had to take care of the younger Matthew. "Generally, though, I was happy. I was taken care of, and dad always managed to keep me fed, clean, warm, and safe even with the Hollow, so I have nothing to complain about."

Phoebe furrowed her brows in confusion at what he had said, not understanding something. "Where were Paige and Piper? Leo even?" She asked, wondering what had happened to her sisters. Surely they wouldn't just ignore him like that, abandon him in his time of need, would they?

"They died when I was eleven, seven, and three, respectively." Payton answered forlornly, having not wanted to tell her about it. It was something that, in his opinion, didn't need to be divulged—he didn't want his mother to know the morbid details of his life or the fates of her sisters. "Uncle Kyle and my father took Wyatt in as their own son, and all five of us lived together until, well, Kyle and dad died protecting us, giving us the time to escape from the Hollow."

"Who is Kyle?" Phoebe asked, not daring to think about the deaths of her sisters or brother in law. She had gone through the pain of losing a sister and a husband before; it was a pain so awful that she didn't want to go through it again, even if it was a hypothetical situation.

"Paige's future husband and Matthew's father," Payton answered, only giving the bare minimum of information necessary to answer the question. He didn't know if he could say something that would change his mother's world, so in order to avoid any negative repercussions, he tried not talking about things that hadn't happened yet in terms of his family's personal lives.

"Interesting," Phoebe smiled, silently wondering what Kyle would be like, who he was, what he did for a living. "So are you close with your cousins?"

"Very," Payton nodded in the affirmative, revealing that they were his two best friends. "We complement each other all so well."

"How so?" Phoebe inquired, wanting to see what he meant by that. She had to admit herself that she and her sisters complemented each other a lot, as well, especially when Prue was still alive, but she knew that sometimes they did butt heads and step one each other's toes.

"Matthew's the heart, Wyatt's the brawn, and I'm the brains," Payton replied easily, knowing and understanding each cousin's place in the circle, the triquetra of power that they formed together. "Our skills, personality, and abilities all complement one another."

"Wyatt is more powerful than you, then?" Phoebe asked, a little surprised by that fact. She had witnessed both Wyatt's and Payton's powers in the womb, and in her opinion, they were both pretty much equal, with Wyatt making Piper indestructible and Payton vanquishing a nigh-invincible demon on his own.

"I guess," Payton shrugged indifferently, not really caring one way or the other. "I have to suppress half of myself, so my powers are dampened as a result. We'd probably be equal if I didn't have to do that," He paused, thinking of what he was going to say next, before he saw where they were. "We're almost back to the manor," Payton suddenly realized, having not previously noticed that they had walked all the way home already.

"I wish I had more time with you, I have so many questions." Phoebe sighed in disappointment, not wanting her time with her son to end. "I want to know you more."

"Perhaps I can come back when it's all over, maybe by then I'll have a half-brother or half-sister in this world." Payton suggested, knowing that it would be good for him to look forward to a time where he could visit his mother without the threat of the Hollow around anymore.

"Here, sit," Phoebe pointed to the stairs, taking a seat on the stoop before they walked into the house. She knew that both Wyatt and Matthew probably weren't done taking their showers and changing just yet, so they still had some time to converse. "Let's finish our ice cream and then go inside."

"Okay," Payton said, sitting down on the cement next to his mother.

They both looked up to the sky, apparently a trait that Payton had inherited from his mother. "For the brief time that I was pregnant with you, I was scared." Phoebe started, keeping her eyes on the stars. "I didn't know if I was going to be a good mother or if Cole was going to be a good father. But after I told Cole that I was pregnant, he lavished with me with balloons and gifts, he was so excited to have a son, which immediately assured me that he would be nothing but the best father in the world."

Payton bit his lip, wanting his mother to expound on what she had said. "Why were you scared?"

"Back then, I wasn't exactly the most responsible person ever." Phoebe admitted to her son, knowing full well the person that she was just a year or two prior. "I was flighty, absent-minded, and selfish; all qualities that don't make a great PTA mother candidate, if you know what I mean. I had previous experience with a baby, a boy named Matthew, ironically enough, that my sisters and I had to take care of while we fought off a ghost a few years back, but I wasn't very good at it. Now Piper, she has all the motherly qualities you could want—she can cook, she's smart and pragmatic, has homemaking skills, and is very nurturing."

"I wasn't one who needed nurturing," Payton whispered honestly, recalling what he had required from the people around him as a young boy. "I needed goodness, pureness, fun, things to help me contain my demonic side, which is something that you would have given to me in spades. Not every mother is perfect for every child, but every mother is perfect for their own child. And you would have been perfect for me, a great balance to dad's seriousness."

"Are you sure someone didn't send you to talk me up?" Phoebe questioned, shifting her gaze over to him, her expression showing her happiness. "I was starting to believe that I would never find love, that I would never be a good mother, that I wouldn't actually ever be a mother, and then the Zankou fight begins and my life flashes before my eyes and you three appear from seemingly out of nowhere."

"Magic has a funny way like that," Payton replied, chomping the last piece of his cone. He used the napkin in his hand to clean off his hands, though they were still sticky once he was finished. "I would actually argue that it was you that was sent to me, to get me back on the right track."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked, cocking a curious eyebrow. What track was he talking about and why did he get off of it in the first place?

"I've lost faith; I have lost my will to try anymore. Sure, I would fight for what is right, and fight to protect everyone, but finding happiness? I lost faith in that. But now? Now it's back and it's all because of rocky road ice cream." Payton grinned, a renewed confidence in his ability to find happiness forming deep inside of him. "Thank you."

"The feeling is mutual," Phoebe smiled back, wrapping her arm around Payton and giving him a tight hug. "By the way, do you know why Cole and I chose the name Payton?" Phoebe asked, wondering how her son received the name that he had.

"Ironically enough, Aunt Piper told me the story many times." Payton laughed, knowing that it was a story that Piper liked relaying to him before she passed away. "You wanted Clayton and Dad thought it would be funny to continue the tradition of naming Halliwell children with a P. Clayton, plus a P is Payton. She said that you guys fought about it throughout your entire pregnancy basically, until you just blurted out Payton after I was born."

"Why would I ever want to name you Clayton?" Phoebe questioned herself, confused about why she would want to name her son Clayton. Sure, it was a nice name in her opinion, but not one of her absolute favorites.

"Something about it being the name of a friend who risked his life to save you one time or another, and it being the last name of the gypsy who served as your doctor, Eve Clayton, I think." Payton shrugged, unsure about it, having never known exactly why himself.

"Clay? Clay Muniz?" Phoebe laughed mirthlessly, having not thought about her ex-boyfriend Clay in years. "Why would I ever name my son after him of all people?"

"Either way, I'm glad my name is Payton and not Clayton." Payton smirked, liking his name. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Phoebe nodded, wiping her sticky hands with a napkin she had taken from the ice cream parlor, similarly to the way that Payton had just moments before.

Payton's gaze moved to his mother's face, wanting to see her reaction as the question he was going to ask was one that wouldn't come up in normal conversation. "Did you really think that I was never yours?"

A/N: The woman who died was originally my character Selia, as seen in Essence of the Demon, but because the canon character Kyra is basically the same person (mine was first!), I've changed it to Kyra to allow you to visualize her more easily. This ends after the next chapter.


	4. Goodbye

Charmed: Hollowed Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own charmed, but the WB does.

Summary: AU After Season Five- This is a one shot about the troubles of three travelers, whom battle the Hollow in their own world in order to survive. The Seer foresaw this, the Avaters warned of it, Good and Evil both agreed to forgo its usage, but no one listened. From a world that has been nearly destroyed by the Hollow's insatiable appetite, three travelers roam from realm to realm, plane to plane, collecting the magic that is needed in order to seal the Hollow back in its box, but who are they? And what secret does one of them harbor?

A/N: This will be a collection of Charmed one shots that I have written over the last few years, which are mostly about Cole and Phoebe. Review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 4: Goodbye

Phoebe's eyes darted to him, knowing there was really no right answer to what he had asked. "That's a loaded question," Phoebe sighed, recognizing the fact that either answer would make her look like a dreadful person. "If I say yes, I'm betraying you by saying that you're not my son. If I say no, I'm betraying you because I lost you in this world and I don't seem like I'm grieving, even though losing a child is the worst pain ever imagined."

"I'm not looking for a right answer," Payton whispered, seeing the awkward position that his question put his mother in. However, he wanted to know the answer, not only for his sake, but for his mother's, as well. "I'm just looking for an answer."

"The tonics that the Seer gave me, they twisted your soul and made me think you weren't mine. I felt your power, it was hard to contain, and I just assumed that the power I felt was evil because you had so many demonic abilities—you vanquished a demon that was thought impossible to vanquish! And then the Seer told me that you were always her child, from the moment of conception, which I took literally instead of figuratively as she meant it, just to spare myself the pain from knowing that I lost you, that I failed in protecting you." Phoebe cried out, with a few warm tears running down her cheek as thoughts that she kept hidden inside escaped the darkest recesses of her mind. Payton reached over and rubbed her back, showing her that he didn't blame her, wanting nothing more than to make her feel better. "I hardened my heart to prevent myself from falling apart after Cole died and after I lost you."

"I wasn't looking for a right answer, yet you gave one anyway." Payton murmured, looking off into the night, unwilling to allow his mother to see his tearful eyes. Not having grown up around her, he had always wanted to talk to her about his problems, to know what she thought of him, and this being the first time he had that chance, he wasn't going to pass it up, no matter how hard it would be for him.

"How did you know I said that? That you weren't mine, I mean…?" Phoebe questioned, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. She saw the water accumulating in his eyes, but she did not mention it, knowing that he didn't want her to see his tears.

"I had a vision about it when you rubbed my back before in the ice cream place," He answered, having seen the would-be coronation of the Seer as the Source in its entirety, including what Phoebe had said in the cage. "You weren't all wrong, either—the Source was there when you were carrying me, just my soul was there, as well. My soul was powerless and small at the time, yes, but it was there nonetheless. However, I understand why you said it now, and I forgive you."

"You sure have a lot of visions," Phoebe laughed through her pain, hoping to turn the conversation into something a bit more pleasant. The thought of her son actually being there, underneath and overshadowed by the pit of evil that she felt from the Source was too painful to think about, both then and forever. "You know, my sisters and I are going to have a lot to talk about because of you three."

"Oh?" Payton replied, running his fingers along the cement stairs, feeling the rough patches of rock. He traced the symbol of the triquetra on the cement, the image having been engrained into his mind over the many times he used it in order to create a portal to another world. "Do you think Paige would like me?"

"Why wouldn't she?" She inquired, suspicious that he thought that Paige wouldn't like him because he was the son of Cole Tuner, whom did not get along with her at any point during his life.

"She didn't like my father very much, I don't know." Payton replied with a shrug, not wanting his aunt to dislike him because of what his father had done in this world.

"You're not your father, and she's not so spiteful to lump the two of you together like that." Phoebe responded, knowing that Paige would be able to separate Payton and Cole, regardless of how much Paige had hated Cole. True, Payton did look like Cole an awful lot, but Phoebe knew that Paige would be able to see past the shallow similarities. "You're your own person; a strong, smart, caring person."

"Good, because I like her," Payton said, having always appreciated Paige's spirit and candor when he was growing up. Out of all of the sisters, he had known her the longest, having lived eleven years of his life with her there to help take care of him.

Phoebe cocked an eyebrow, wondering what he thought about her older sister, Piper. "What about Piper?" She asked amusedly, a small smile playing on her face.

"She's okay," Payton joked sarcastically with a laugh, shrugging in mock indifference. Phoebe gave out a laugh as well, enjoying Payton's sense of humor—it was sarcasm without any animosity in it, which made it easy to make her laugh.

Eventually, the pair headed back into the manor, and as they were entering the door, Phoebe's father Victor Bennett came walking out. "Oh, Phoebe, hi," Victor said, kissing his daughter hello on the cheek. "I was just returning Wyatt for the night."

"Hi dad," Phoebe smiled back, having not seen him in a few days. His move back to San Francisco had been a success, as he had fulfilled his promise of being there for Phoebe and her sisters more, so much so in fact that if the girls didn't see him for a couple of days, they often wondered where he was. Even Paige had grown close to Victor, which was amazing as Paige's existence was a living reminder about the failures that Victor had as a husband.

"And who is this, your date?" Victor questioned, looking over to Payton and giving him a once over, wanting to see if he measured up to his standards for his daughter. He understood that Phoebe had been having problems finding the right man, and like any good father would, he wanted to make sure that this one wouldn't hurt her.

"That is the grossest thing I've ever heard." Payton sighed with a slight look of disgust on his face, trying to get that mental image out of his mind.

"What?" Victor asked confusedly, looking at Payton curiously, not understanding what he had said wrong.

"Time travel, dad," Phoebe replied, filling her father in on why it was a gross suggestion. "He's my son."

"…oh," Victor squirmed, understanding his mistake and seeing why Payton would react that way. "It's just that, since he looks like Cole, I figured that was your type. Wait, he does look an awful lot like Cole, doesn't he?"

"He's my father, so I would imagine I would." Payton grinned, a near exact replica of Cole Turner's grin. "Payton Turner, how are you, sir?" Payton asked, reaching out his hand for the older man to shake.

"Have you ever met your grandfather?" Phoebe inquired, not knowing whether her father was still alive and present in his world.

"Once or twice," Payton answered, trying to recall the last time he had seen his grandfather. It had been a long time since he had last seen him, so much so that he didn't really remember if it happened at all and he actually never did meet him. "But it was when I was young, so I only vaguely remember."

"I'm slightly confused," Victor murmured, wondering how Payton was Cole's son when Phoebe had divorced him nearly a year prior and had made no assertions of ever wanting to get back together with him.

"I'll fill you in the next time I see you," Phoebe replied, taking her father's arm and escorting him over to his car.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry," Victor mumbled as he fumbled with his keys, Phoebe shaking her head all the while. "Bye Payton, it was good to meet you." Victor called out in a louder voice, giving a wave to his grandson. "I'll be seeing you."

"Bye now," Payton returned, waving back, watching as Victor got into his car and drove off. When the car was out of sight, he turned his gaze over to Phoebe, who was walking back up to him on the porch. "I'm glad I got to see him."

Once Phoebe had reached the door again, they both entered the house, where they found Matthew and Wyatt waiting for them, each showered and wearing a fresh set of clean clothes. "So I haven't asked you, but what powers do you have?" Paige asked her son conversationally, wondering what abilities he had in comparison to Wyatt.

"I can orb and sense from my whitelighter genes," Matthew replied, listing off his powers with his fingers. Admittedly, he wasn't as powerful as Payton or Wyatt, even without them absorbing more power to fight the Hollow, but regardless of that, he was still a very strong witch, one that was not to be taken lightly in battle. "And I can conjure the elements and telekinetically orb from my witch ones."

"Conjure the elements? You mean like the Enchantress could?" Paige gasped, referencing her previous life as the Enchantress, where she had the power to conjure the classical elements like fire, water, and air. The Enchantress had been exceptionally powerful, but evil, which made her future lives lose that power and forced them to earn their powers back through good deeds and soul growth.

"I have no idea who the Enchantress is, but yes, conjure the elements." Matthew answered with a nod, raising an eyebrow at the mention of the Enchantress but not asking about it. "You know, I can throw fire bolts, I can generate water, and I can release gusts of winds."

"The Enchantress was one of your mother's past lives." Piper informed with a smile, remembering that night with the prince, where they traveled back in time to a kingdom long ago. The young Wyatt giggled as he sat in her lap, staring blankly at his older self, who just continued to smile back, apparently enjoying the surreal experience of meeting his younger self. "She came to the future when your mother first returned to our family way back when; it was quite a night to remember. Anyway, what are fire bolts, like throwing flames or something?"

Before Matthew could respond, the small group all noticed Payton and Phoebe standing at the doorway, and they all immediately knew that it was time for the boys to leave. Wyatt and Matthew got up from the couch and began walking to the stairs, with Payton and their three mothers following closely behind. "Wait," Wyatt whispered, stopping before they reached the stairs, looking down at the floor as if he had just thought of something.

"What is it?" Piper asked, hoping that there wasn't anything wrong. She hoisted baby Wyatt into her left arm, allowing her to use her right hand if she needed to, making sure he was safe and protected in case something was happening.

"I think we should go check," Wyatt said to Payton, looking at his half-demon cousin. While they usually didn't check the sacred land, they had previously knowledge that the Hollow was released in the world they were currently in, which made it all the more prudent to see if it was still in its proper chamber and protected as it should be.

"Right," Payton nodded slowly, seeing the intelligence in doing what Wyatt said. "We'll be back; it'll be a few minutes." He muttered, looking over at his mother and his aunts, each of whom had looks of confusion on their faces.

"Bye," Matthew said, watching as his cousins disappeared—Wyatt in a silhouette of light blue orbs and Payton in a flash of orange flames respectively.

"Where did they go?" Phoebe asked, as Matthew walked back into the living room and resumed his seat on the couch, apparently not seeing the use in standing.

"They went to see if the Hollow is still in its sacred resting place," Matthew answered, leaning back in his seat, knowing it would be a few minutes until they came back.

Phoebe nodded and leaned against the wall, biting her lip as she looked over at Matthew, who was quite handsome. "So Payton tells me you and him are close," Phoebe started, wanting to make some conversation with her nephew before he left.

"Pay?" Matthew smiled, looking over to his aunt that was on the other side of the room. "Yeah, we are; very close actually. Wyatt has Bianca, so Payton and I mainly stick with each other, not really having anyone else."

"Who's Bianca?" Piper questioned, wondering if Wyatt had a girlfriend that she didn't know about. _Why wouldn't he tell me about her_, she questioned ruefully to herself, visions of an elegant wedding appearing in her mind.

Just then, there was a flash of flames and a flurry of blue orbs in the corner of the room, signifying the reappearance of Payton and Wyatt, their mission seemingly successful. Again, the family marched up the stairs and arrived in the attic not a minute later, where they all saw a large, finished triquetra sketched onto the wall with white chalk. Piper placed baby Wyatt gently down into his attic playpen, before walking back over to the group as a great sadness suddenly stole over her, knowing that she would miss this version of her son.

"Do we need to say a spell or anything?" Piper questioned her son, wondering if they needed to do anything to help. "Do we need the book?"

"No, not at all," Matthew shook his head in the negative, answering in place of Wyatt. "It's Payton's spell; he's the one that always does it."

"You invented it?" Phoebe inquired with a smile, admiring the fact that her son had inherited her spell-creating ability. _I guess he really is the brains_, she thought to herself, impressed with his skill and smarts in magic.

"Yes," Payton nodded in the affirmative, having worked on the spell throughout many sleepless nights, while he continually tried to figure out a plan to defeat the Hollow. "All you have to do is think of a place in your mind, draw a portal, and your magic will do the work. I use the triquetra because it's a magical symbol in and of itself, which enhances and focuses the spell even more than the rhymes do. Listen to it so you can put it in your book, it might come in handy one day, you never know. You just need to switch a few words around to suit your needs, whatever they may be at the time."

"Will do," Phoebe agreed, knowing that it was always good to have a powerful spell at the ready just in case, especially one that could allow them to travel through both time and space.

Payton scanned Wyatt and Matthew, making sure they were both ready to depart, that each of them was prepared for the travel. At their nods, he looked towards the wall and closed his eyes, concentrating on where they needed to go: their home on top of Mount Olympus firmly pictured in his mind. "Hear these words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within my mind; send us forward to where we'll find our rightful place in space and time." Payton chanted, thrusting his hands forward at the triquetra drawn on the wall as if using Piper's powers to slow down molecules.

Immediately, a blue portal in the shape of the triquetra opened, showing a whirling tunnel that would lead them back to their own timeline. As the men made their way over to their respective mothers to say their goodbyes, they each took out a golden pendant from their pockets and placed it around their neck, the key to being able to enter Mount Olympus once they arrived—it was warded and protected from entry except for those holding the pendant. "Good bye, mom," Payton said, moving away from Phoebe after giving her a long, emotional hug. "For what it's worth, you would have made a wonderful mother for me. I had a great time tonight."

"Good luck with your battle, I'm positive you'll win and find that happiness that you deserve," Phoebe whispered, kissing his cheek and enveloping him in one last hug, not wanting to let him go. "I'm sorry for everything again."

"You have no reason to be sorry," Payton assured her, having spoken with her about everything that had made him dread coming into the timeline in the first place. "One day things will work out for you, and whatever children you do have with that man, they will be lucky to have you as a mother."

"You're sweet," Phoebe smiled, a tear coming down her cheek, surprised by how close she felt with her son in just a few short hours together. There was so much that she wanted to know, wanted to talk to him about that she didn't even know if he stayed there for a week that she'd have enough time to get to it all. "Remember, just be yourself like I said and you'll do fine."

"I will, I promise. I'll be seeing you, mom," Payton said quietly one last time, walking over to the portal and standing a few feet from it. "Good bye everyone, it was nice seeing you Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige," Payton waved, before stepping into the blue portal and disappearing from view, presumably returning to his own timeline.

"Will we see each other again?" Paige questioned her own son, wondering if he would ever come to visit her again. Truthfully, while she wasn't previously dreading motherhood, she knew that it was quickly approaching as she aged, and after meeting Matthew for herself, she was more excited about it than ever before.

"If we beat the Hollow, yes, we'll come back and say hello, if you want." Matthew replied, looking forward to the day that they could return to tell their parents the good news in that they were successful.

"When you beat the Hollow, you mean," Paige corrected, not wanting to think about Matthew or Wyatt or Payton losing their battle against the Hollow, which would mean they lost their lives, as well. "When you beat the Hollow, you will come back and say hello."

"Yes," Matthew nodded, noticing his slip of the tongue, not having meant to be so negative with what he said. "Yes, when we beat the Hollow." He smiled, before giving her a final hug and saying, "Bye! See you soon Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe." After giving one last look to his mother and his aunts, he turned and jumped into the portal, disappearing from sight instantly.

Wyatt hugged his mom and made his way over to the portal, before stopping and thinking about something, a pensive expression on his face. "I take it he didn't want to do this on his own," Wyatt murmured, closing his eyes and sensing out into the Void, searching for someone that he knew all too well. "Perhaps that's why he wanted to stay by himself in the hopes of being able to talk to him. I guess I owe him for going against his wishes and telling you who he really was."

"What are you talking about?" Phoebe asked, knowing that her son was the person about whom Wyatt was talking, but not knowing exactly why. What did he mean by 'owe him'? What did Wyatt plan on doing?

"If we teach you anything by telling you about our miserable lives, please, forgive and forget. Everyone deserves a second chance, including him." Wyatt answered, waving his hand through the air and looking off to an empty spot on the attic floor, drawing the attention of all of the sisters. "Goodbye mom, I love you. Tell dad I say hello. Aunt Paige, Aunt Phoebe, be safe." He said, before walking forward into the portal, but not so far that he disappeared like the other two. "And make sure you get a new whitelighter!" Wyatt's voice came as he took another few steps and disappeared, sounding as if he was right there in the attic.

As soon as Wyatt fully stepped through the portal, it closed behind him and vanished, preventing anyone from traveling like the three boys had done. Immediately after the portal's closing, as if by magic, a being started to appear in a swirl of wind at the exact spot at which Wyatt had stared just seconds before. First came feet, and then legs, before finally a torso, which was that of a tall man. In a matter of moments, the magic was complete and the being appeared in his entirety, allowing the sisters to see exactly who he was.

"Cole?" Phoebe whispered, looking over at the confused ex-demon, who seemed to not understand how he got there. The man turned his attention to the voice, and was shocked to meet the gaze of his former wife, a person that he never dreamed of seeing ever again.

A/N: This story is now complete. I may write a follow up eventually, but this was the story I wanted to tell: a group of young adults, fighting for what they know is right, finally get a break from that fight for a short while. Thank you for reading.


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